Packing material



1931- I J. N. VANDE'GRIFT 1,320,955

PACKING MATERIAL Filed March 8. 1929 awueutoz to manufacture,

Patented Sept. 1, 1931 I JAMES H. VAINDEGRIFT, OF NEW YORK, N, Y.

PACKING MATERIAL Application filed larch 8, 1929. Serial No. 345,337.

This invention relates to packing material and more particularly to packing material designed for use in connection with bearings operating under conditions of relatively high tern ratures. v

An ob ect of the present invention is to provide a packing material which is simple mexpensive to use and eflicient in o ration.

ereto ore in certain types of industry use has been made of packing materials of varied goods in connection with bearm members operating under conditions whic mixed metallic asbestos and necessitate relatively high temperatures.

All of the packing material used under such conditions has been found to possess very short life due to the'high temperature which in some instances causes charring and consequently disintegration and-in other instances causes complete destruction by combustion, etc. In connection with the operation of rotary retorts in the distillation of coal and other carbonaceous materials, it is necessary to provide a packing for sealing the retort to prevent intake of air or loss of vapor and such packing must be capable of standing up under conditions of a rotatin surface temperature of over .1000 F. ill of the known packings made u of metallic or fibre have failed to withstand this temperature and furnish e required sealing for any reasonable len th of time.

he present invention overcomes the difiiculties encountered heretofore by providing a packing which is durable, which is-resilie'nt,-and which serves .to efl'ectively seal a retortagainst the entry of air or the escape of vapor. The packing, in addition to forming a stationary material of this nature for use with rotary retorts can be advantageously used in any installation wherein a packing, which is resilient, durable and inexpensivejs required. The material of the present invention is composed of a plurality of very fine loosely woven metal strands which may be twisted into the shape of substantially a rope or may be manufactured in any desired shape. The rope or fiat strip of material is'impregnated with a mixture of graphite and heavy oil, the latter of whichserves to cause the graphite to penetrate the metallic strands more readily and thorough- Other features and ob ects of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the followin detailed description read in the light of t e accompanying drawings, wherein: Z

Fig. 1 illustrates a flat strip of packing material made up of a multiplicity of very fine metallic strands.

Fig. 2 illustrates material of the same nature twisted into the shape of substantiallya rope. c5 Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 'of 1g. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a representation of a packing ring illustrating the manner in which the packing may be placed under pressure.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1, 10 illustrates the pack ing material of the present invention shaped as a flat strip of metallic strands of such fine nature asto form metallic threads intermingled in such manner as to constitute what is known in the art as mineral wool. While any ty e of mineral wool will serve the purpose 0 the present invention it has'been found in practice that the socalled steel wool can be used advantageously. The mineral wool may be impregnated with a mixture ofgraphite and heavy oil or other suitable lubricant thereby producin a packing which functlons efliciently under various conditions of operation.

In Fig. 2, the mineral wool is shown twisted late the shape of. substantially a rope 11 since it has been foundthat the material can be handled more readily while" in of a multiplicity of very fine metallic strands this figure,

this shape. If so desired, use may be made of a separate strand of the same or other material for binding the roll into the desired shape before using, which strand would, of necessity, be wound in the opposite direction to the winding of the material. As before explained in connection with Fig. 1, the material will be impregnated with a solution of graphite and heavy oil or other suitable lubricant.

The operation and use of the invention may be considered in connection with a packing ring as illustrated in Fig. 4. In

the rotating member is illustrated in dotted lines as having a surface 12 while around the member extendsa stationary ring 13 and a compression rlng 14 which is connected to the member 13 by means of a bolt 15 screw-threaded thereinto. The member 14 is disconnected from-the member 13 and a number of strips of material in the shape indicated in Fig. 1 or in the shape indicated in Fig. 2 may be introduced as shown, after which the member 14 is brought into contact with the outer portion of the packing material and pressure applied thereto by tightening each of the nuts 15 one of which is illustrated). Since the packlng material is thoroughly saturated with heavy oil and graphite, the graphite, dueto the pressure applied'to the material and due to the rotation of the surface 12 will in a very short while gradually work down until" it becomes concentrated inthat portion of the material resting or bearing directly on the surface12. In this manner there is formed a lubricating surface which is substantially impervious to heatand which will ofi'er the leastresistance to friction. 'The advantages of the present mate rial are numerous. It provides a packing material which is resilient, which can be operated under conditions of relatively high temperature and it is inexpensve to manufacture and to use. When the material is used in connection with a rotary reto'rt or other rotating surface of relatively high temperature, the heavy oil becomes vaporized and 'is driven ofi, but the graphite remains concentrated as ,a lubricating surface between the packing material and the rotatmg surface. Since the material can be compressed, it will be apparent it serves eflici ently, to prevent the passage of vapor or air and likewise it, when compressed is oil'- tight and dust-proof which is a necessity in theoperation of journal boxes, shaft bear: mgs or otheruses at ordinary temperatures. .Wh1le the drawings and description have loosely intermingled, it will be evident that loose metallic strands arranged in sym= metrical relation with respect to each other can be substituted for these-called mineral wool referred to above without departing In testimony whereof, I have signed my' name to this specification.

JAMES N. VANDEGRIFT. 

